Q3 CAMPI performance spurs sales target to 370,000

Buoyed by its first semester sales totaling 221,901 motor vehicles, the Philippine automobile industry recently raised its 2016 total sales target from 350,000 to 370,000 units.

The industry leaders have reason to be bullish.

In an online interview, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines. Inc. (CAMPI) president Rommel Gutierrez said: “Based on year-to-date performance, we are confident to achieve this (370,000) level.”

The third quarter sales performance of CAMPI members has given a major boost to year-to-date figures.

A joint report from CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association indicated that year-to-date sales from January to October 2016 hit 292,502 units.

This does not include the sales chalked up by members of the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), which includes Ford and Hyundai.

Surpassing the year’s sales target is getting to be a habit now, since the industry exceeded the 310,000 goal in 2015 by posting sales of 323,928.

New car sales will be spurred by the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS), which aims to boost vehicle and parts manufacturing capability.

CAMPI’s sales leaders, Toyota Motor Philippines and Mitsubishi Motor Philippines, have taken up the CARS challenge to produce 200,000 units of one model over the next six years.

Their principals in Japan are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the Philippines to make their CARS participation a go. Toyota has entered its best-seller, the subcompact Vios, in the CARS program, while Mitsubishi is participating with its Mirage mini subcompact.

CAMPI, the first association of auto manufacturers organized in the Philippines, has eight regular and seven associate members for a total of 15.

The regular members, alphabetically listed, are BMW, Daewoo Bus, Honda, Kia, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota while the associates are the All Nations Group (Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep), BAIC (Bayan Automotive Industries Corp.), Foton, Mazda, Peugeot, SsangYong and Volkswagen.

This article covers the 2016 third quarter sales performance of CAMPI members only, since a few carmakers did not have their October sales totals yet.

Top 10 CAMPI performers

Toyota remains the undisputed leader with third quarter sales reaching 41,777 units. (See tables in succeeding pages.)

The table is based on an official release from CAMPI. Foton’s July sales performance is not reported because the Chinese vehicle manufacturer joined CAMPI only after July. But even then,

Foton’s achievement in selling 3,000 vehicles has surprised many auto industry observers.

In fact, Foton is in the Philippines for the long haul, as shown by its building a P1.2 billion assembly plant which was inaugurated at the Clark Freeport Zone last February.

Foton’s rise can be partly attributed to its product lineup: diesel-fed pickup trucks, minivans, coasters and other heavy duty commercial vehicles.

Note that the industry leaders—Toyota, Mitsubishi, Isuzu—and up-and-coming CAMPI members Nissan and Foton, market diesel pickup trucks, big SUVs, and/or multipurpose/Asian utility vehicles, coasters buses and heavy duty commercial vehicles.

On the other hand, Honda, Kia and Mazda do not offer pickup trucks except for Mazda, which markets the BT50. Honda increased its sales volume when it introduced the Mobilio, categorized as an AUV/MPV, a year ago.

Diesel-fed full-size and medium-size SUVs, pickup trucks and AUVs make up a major portion of the sales records of market leaders Toyota, Mitsubishi and Isuzu since diesel fuel is priced lower by 5 pesos per liter than gasoline.

Top 10 best-selling

CAMPI nameplates

In the list of best-selling nameplates, Toyota corners seven out of 10, Mitsubishi has two and Isuzu, one. The Mitsubishi Mirage (hatchback and G4 sedan) leads its arch rival, the Toyota Wigo, by only 270 units.

In the midsize SUV competition, the Toyota Fortuner is way ahead by 4,335 units over its nearest rival, the Isuzu mu-X.

The Mitsubishi Montero Sport, once the midsize SUV segment leader, slid to third place behind the Fortuner and mu-X after complaints about alleged sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) affected consumer confidence in its safety.

Those complaints were eventually found to be baseless, but the Montero Sport’s reputation had already been damaged.

Ironically enough, some years ago, many Toyota owners in the United States sued Japan’s biggest carmaker, complaining that SUA caused their vehicles to crash. The cases compelled Toyota to issue massive recalls and dented the brand’s image in North America for some time. But the US controversy has had no impact whatsoever on Toyota’s marketability in this country.

Proof: The affordable, durable Toyota Vios—the only Toyota manufactured in the Philippines—remained the best-selling motor vehicle across all segments while Toyota nameplates dominate the midsize SUV, minivan, MPV/AUV and pickup truck segments.

Top 4 CAMPI pickup trucks

Again an ultra-trusted Toyota model, the Hilux, rules the roost with more than 3,000 units sold in the third quarter alone.

The Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Strada have overtaken the Isuzu D-Max despite Isuzu’s street cred as the best diesel engine manufacturer in the world. Does it have something to do with the D-Max’s exterior design getting long in the tooth?

If the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado were included here, they would give the Japanese pickups a run for their money. But Ford and Chevy are AVID members, so they are not counted in.

Top 7 CAMPI minivans

In the list of best-selling minivans, the pricier models like the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Alphard and Kia Carnival bring up the rear. Most probably, this is why the more affordable Foton Transvan surpassed their sales figures.

The Toyota HiAce, which is offered with variable seating capacities and many luxurious features, tops the list. Again, the trustworthiness of the Toyota brand comes into play.

The all-new Nissan Urvan, launched on the market only a year or so ago, still has to overtake the everlasting Mitsubishi L300.

These minivans could not be pitched against the popular Hyundai Starex in this list because Hyundai belongs to the AVID group.

Top 5 CAMPI MPV/AUVs

The Honda Mobilio placed fourth in the MPV/AUV segment in the first semester, but was overtaken by the Isuzu Crosswind in the third quarter, although by only 14 units.

The advantage of the top four on this list is that they offer both diesel and gasoline variants, while Honda Motor does not market diesel vehicles here.

Top 3 CAMPI midsize SUVs/crossovers

The Fortuner and Montero Sport head count includes both the old and new 2016 models, while the 2016 Isuzu mu-X is equipped with a new 3.0 liter common rail direct injection diesel engine with variable geometry turbo (VGT).

All three are seven-seater pickup platform passenger vehicles propelled by either diesel or gasoline engines, except for the mu-X which comes with a diesel-fed powertrain only.

Not included in this list are the popular Ford Everest and Chevrolet Trailblazer since these American brands are with AVID.

Top 8 CAMPI compact/

subcompact crossovers

In this segment, retail price plays an important deciding factor for buyers. For example, the funky-looking Nissan Juke, selling at P980,000 but equipped with many upscale features like pushbutton start/stop, proximity key entry, power-folding side mirrors, full-color reverse camera and three driving modes, was launched on the market only in January this year but has already zoomed to the top.

The Juke has overtaken the more costly Honda HR-V and much pricier Toyota RAV4. Both the Juke and RAV4 are manufactured in Japan, ditto the fifth-placer Mazda CX-5.

The old non-SkyActiv and new SkyActiv models of the Mazda CX-5 are counted here. Watch out for the Mazda CX-3 SkyActiv, which arrived in the third quarter and whose sales are expected to surge in the fourth quarter Christmas shopping season.

Ford, Subaru and Chevrolet crossovers are not included here since their brand principals belong to AVID.

Top 4 CAMPI executive cars

Although the Honda Accord offers a more sporty driving experience than the Camry, Toyota’s flagship sedan still dominates. It may be because the Camry is generally better known, having entered the executive sedan market earlier than the Accord.

People’s long-established trust in the Toyota brand counts a lot in marketing.

Meanwhile, the sales record of the stylish and fun-to-drive Mazda6, as either a sedan or a sports wagon, also bears watching as the Mazda SkyActiv brand becomes more familiar in this country.

Top 5 compact cars

Ever since Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. introduced the hot, all-new Civic RS VTEC Turbo, you get to see more new Civics on the road. It makes you wonder if and when Toyota Motor Philippines will come up with a turbocharged Corolla Altis.

The race in the compact car segment, as far as CAMPI goes, is strictly between the Civic and the Corolla. The ball is now in the court of Toyota to make the match more exciting.

The two rivals should watch out for the Mazda3 SkyActiv, which not only looks splendid in a sporty kind of way, but is as engaging to drive as the 1.8-liter naturally aspirated Civic.

Meanwhile, the scuttlebutt is that with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo ceasing production, the Lancer EX is also headed for the exit. Whatever happened to the Lancer GTA?

Top 7 CAMPI subcompact cars

The popularity of market leader Toyota Vios was boosted further by the Vios Cup racing series.

Meanwhile, the stylish City remains Honda’s best-seller with the infinitely versatile Jazz making it to fourth place.

The Toyota Yaris is larger and more affordable now that it is assembled in Thailand instead of Japan. Having the same drivetrain and underpinnings as the Vios but styled more attractively, the Yaris appeals to millennials buying their first car.

The Nissan Almera is not exactly the fastest car in this group, but it has such a roomy cabin that choosing it over the other, more popular subcompact models makes sense for a young growing family.

The Mazda2 SkyActiv won the 2015 Car of the Year trophy of the Car Awards Group, Inc. Available in either hatchback or sedan form, the Mazda2 SkyActiv should post bigger sales figures before the year ends.

Top 4 CAMPI mini

subcompact cars

In this segment, the Mitsubishi Mirage and the Honda Brio are offered either as a hatchback (Mirage HB and Honda Brio) or a sedan (Mirage G4 and Honda Amaze). The Mirage has recovered pole position from the Wigo as the best-selling mini subcompact.

The 1.0-liter Picanto has emerged as Kia’s best-selling model with another Korean make, the Hyundai i10 and the Suzuki Celerio as major rivals.

Hyundai and Suzuki minicars are not included here as they are AVID brands.

Top 5 CAMPI premium/

European brand distributors

The five CAMPI importers and distributors of luxury and/or European brands are listed according their sales scores in the third quarter.

Lexus, the premium division of Toyota, enjoys the advantage given by the Japanese-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which made the importation of Japan-made vehicles with 3.0-liter engines and above tax-free.

Since all of the cars Lexus Manila imports from Japan to sell here have 3.0-liter engines and above, their retail prices went down and sales volume went up. Lexus Manila sold 543 cars in the third quarter.

Still, Asian Carmakers Corp., the distributor of BMW in the Philippines, has managed to keep pace with Lexus sales. In the third quarter this year, ACC sold 525 BMW units.

The All Nations Group (ANG) distributes Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. Their combined sales of 504 units in the third quarter came mostly from CATS Motors, ANG’s Mercedes-Benz dealer.

CATS sold 263 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and 33 MB trucks and buses in the third quarter.

Automobile Central Enterprise, Inc. (ACEI), an Ayala-owned subsidiary, imports and distributes Volkswagen cars. Very recently, ACEI began advertising VW cars at lower prices.

Although VW is not considered a luxury brand in Europe, VW cars sold in the Philippines cost much more than Japanese or Korean cars in the same segments due to shipping costs and import tariffs and duties.

Even before ACEI started to reduce prices, ACEI managed to sell a total of 464 VW cars in the third quarter.

Neither is Peugeot of France considered a premium brand in Europe, but over here, their car prices push it into that category. Adding to the lack of brand awareness is that most Filipinos do not know how to pronounce “Peugeot” correctly.

In the third quarter, Eurobrands Distributors, Inc., the authorized importer and distributor of Peugeot, sold 63 passenger cars and 47 light commercial Peugeot vehicle for total retail sales of 110 units.

Summing up

With the third quarter surge in overall sales and Christmas bonuses in the hands of tens of thousands of consumers, CAMPI is bullish about hitting this year’s 370,000 target.

The Department of Finance’s proposal to raise excise taxes on new cars has not dampened sales or the auto industry’s optimism. “There has been no noticeable effect on the sales of new motor vehicles,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez says.

Neither does he see any significant impact on the Philippine auto industry by the election of Donald Trump, who plans to close factories producing American goods, including cars, overseas in order to bring jobs back to the United States.

After all, there are no American car assembly plants in the Philippines, Ford Motor having moved to Thailand in 2012 and General Motors having chosen Thailand over the Philippines for its factory long ago.